Baby Mama Status; An Emerging Reality In Nigeria

It used to be a taboo to have children before marriage in Nigeria. Personally I have witnessed situations where a man is interested in marrying a lady only to cancel at the last minute because he discovered that the lady had a child in her parents’ house. As a result, some ladies have suffered the pain of rejecting their own children just to stand a chance of getting married. This is not to account for those that go through the pain of aborting the unwanted pregnancies. Other women have attempted to lure men into marriage by getting pregnant for them. When the strategy fails, the woman is stuck with baby mama status.

Guaranteed Ways To Make A Male Or Female Child

INTRODUCTION

The issue of getting a male or female child has led to unwanted pregnancies in many families. Because children are a blessing in any gender, once the child is born, reasonable parents readily accept their off-springs and shower them with love and care. However, in many instances one or both parents continue to live a life of regret and acrimony for many years after the child is born, some even make it clear to the children that they never wanted his or her gender. Some children  can decipher the attitude in parent’s body language and begin to reject their gender in preference for the opposite one.

In the case of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian,

"The Nigerian Factor” Or Undocumented Corruption?

It is said that when an evil act is perpetrated over a long period of time, it becomes the culture of the people. I do not know whether the same can be said about other acts that are acceptable in the community. In 2003 when I was a student, we woke up to the reality that

Effective Discipline At Home: To Flog or Not To Flog? (PART 1)

The issue of discipline of children at home is pertinent today for several reasons. It is no longer a matter of how you want to raise your own child as much as what is right by the law of the land, and what is beneficial to the wellbeing of the child in question. It is true that children are often handed to inexperienced parents without a clear guideline

Effective Discipline At Home: To Flog or Not To Flog? (CONCLUSION)

The more children are spanked, the more anger they display as adults, the more likely they are to spank their own children, the more likely they are to approve of hitting a spouse, and the more marital conflict they experience as adults. Spanking has been associated with higher rates of

Effective Discipline At Home: To Flog or Not To Flog? PART 2

Others require a consistent consequence to prevent repeat or escalation. Some problems, particularly those that involve intense emotional exchanges, may be handled best by

ALL IN SUPPORT OF GIRL CHILD EDUCATION SAY AYE!

First Lady Michelle Obama Speaks On Girl Child Education

This video was sent in by a NPID reader o to enrich our readers.

Thank you for your thoughtful contribution.

Disappearing Languages, Who Will Bell The Cat?

It is by no means a simple task to bring up children who are fluent in English as well as the language of your forefathers like Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. A lot of excuses have been tendered as reasons why children should not be bothered with a degenerate language that can only be spoken at home as in the case of those living abroad. Contrary to the popular opinion that a second language will hamper speech development. Research has shown that the brain of those who speak more

Soursop Tea: Cancer Killer or Baby Killer..... A story from Antigua

Many of us, at one time or the other must have come across the story that soursop is a very powerful cancer killer. They say it was discovered but big pharmaceutical companies are not ready to sponsor its production as a drug. That was because they already spent huge sums of money on cancer drugs that are in the market today. Some people have therefore turned to soursop as a medicine of last resort both for treatment of cancer and for prevention in general. It is even used as a tonic. However, like all herbal medications, the benefits are definitely modulated by some unknown side effects. Some women claimed that after they were diagnosed with breast cancer, they had successfully

The Wake of Women's Right to Inheritance.

It saddens me to see what little regard the society has for the womenfolk of Nigerian communities. It is true that a man is genetically equipped to be the head of the family, but women need not be relegated to the role of mere chef or baby maker of the family. With all due respect, a woman of the house should be fully recognized as an equal partner or at least a deputy to the head of the family. Our very judicial system has been very slow in protecting the rights of women, in marriage, spinsterhood and even during childhood. The most disturbing aspect of it all  is that traditions and customs seem to encourage this discrimination, and seek solely to favour men. Recently there has been an increase in rape cases in Nigeria as well as other countries like India and Germany.  I am compelled to ask, what kind of deterrence is in place to stop the perpetrators of this heinous crime.

BY YOUR DRESS THEY SHALL KNOW YOU........Story from Jamaica

As Nigerians we have flamboyant ways of dressing. Our fashion is not geared toward conservatism; instead it craves for recognition and reeks of affluence. The colours of our dressings are not the quiet hues like brown, turquoise black; instead our colours are often intrusive ones like gold, orange, pink and indigo. Have you ever wondered why on certain days people treat you like a king and beggars approach you with confidence and for those who drive most of the time, you may find a waitress giving you special attention with the full expectation of a generous tip. Some of these things are subconscious the person may not be able to articulate what is taking place but once the tip comes, everything falls in place.

WHY THE FUSS ABOUT MALE CHILDREN?

Nigerian families will appreciate what I am trying to say. It is beyond my comprehension why Nigerian parents make so much noise about male children. Sometimes having just one male child is not even  enough. In many cases, concerned  relatives  will boldly take it upon themselves to give you what they think is a crucial advice "Get a companion for the son,

WHY NIGERIANS CANNOT TAKE VACATION

It remains an open secret that a Nigerian cannot demand for a vacation just to rest. Once you announce that you are going for a vacation, your fellow Nigerians will be the first to ask you "O dikwa na mma" Is everything alright? That may sound like a passive question but we all know it is

Story lesson from Dominica; KIDS GETTING DRUNK ON DINNER TABLE

It was 25th December 2009, that was a Christmas day, for those of you who have stopped celebrating Christmas. Patrick Biko, is a Nigerian expatriate living and working in Dominica.Dominica is said to be a small Island that reminds Africans of Motherland.That is due to
the luscious vegetation, numerous rivers and surplus supply of assorted food crops. To top it all, people lived in communities and are generous with food and drink.

Patrick found himself and few others sitting around an outdoor table constructed with rough hewn timber.It was however painted with the popular colours; yellow, red and green. Colours that have been associated with African consciousness of African descendants in America. Nicky and Sharon were the hosts. They were about the same age. Middle aged would be appropriate here, Their teenage son; Tevon was nearby, making Christmas Jerk Chicken for the family. Sharon's brother Kirkland was also at the table. Kirk lived in America once and so his perspective on life had become elephant in the room;don't fight elephant.Sharon is pretty and energetic and had an uncanny ability to coordinate cooking, washing pressing, gardening and every other chores in the house. Tevon  already made a career choice.

Fellow Nigerians, Is Tertiary Education for Fveryone?

 

From my own perspective as a Nigerian, I often ask myself 'Of what use is it for one to hold a certificate that he or she cannot defend?' We have all been misguided and blinded to some realities of life.  Holding a degree is good, but most Nigerian parents would add that it is compulsory. One may argue that this behavior is so because of the Nigerian economic stagnation. However, we must also acknowledge that recent diversification of of the economy has paved way for technical jobs and unskilled jobs that may not require university education.  My main grouse is with parents who impose tertiary education on children with learning disability.

 In Nigeria when a child is not academically sound they are often referred to as “iti” in my native language which means  ”a dunce"  That child is often regarded as being lazy or has a brain fag. Sometimes they say the person is possessed by an evil spirit.  The parents most often push that child to any limit